Businesses and Industries

Business Vehicle Registration Relief Package

Registration freeze for light and heavy vehicles

Small businesses looking to suspend activity due to the COVID-19 business downturn and trading restrictions can apply to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to freeze their business vehicle registrations for both light and heavy vehicles.

Registrations can be reactivated at no cost to them when the business restarts. The maximum period that a registration can be frozen is 12 months.

Heavy vehicle registration and motor tax waivers

For heavy vehicles of over 4.5 tonnes the Government will waive fees for registration and the road component of motor tax for 12 months.

Operators will still need to pay the regulatory component of motor tax which goes to fund the operations of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR).

Applications

Significantly impacted business owners can apply for the Registration freeze for light and heavy vehicles or the Heavy vehicle registration and motor tax waivers. Apply using the Transport Tasmania's Registration Business Support Package form.

You will need to provide details on your business registered for tax purposes in Australia and your Australian Business Number (ABN) and make a declaration that your business activities have been ceased or suspended.

Approval will be at the discretion of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles.

Cultural and Creative Industries

Arts organisations funding

To support the arts and cultural sector in Tasmanian impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, arts organisations that are currently on a single year funding package or those in the final year of agreements under the Arts Tasmania Organisations Program will have these contracts extended for another year.

Additional competitive funding will also be made available for arts organisations that will support additional employment and cultural activity.

This will be open to organisations based in Tasmania that are not already receiving support through Arts Tasmania’s Organisations (multi-year), Cultural Heritage Organisations, Cultural Heritage Organisations (multi-year) or those in receipt of annual funding extension.

Organisations in receipt of administered funding from the Tasmanian Government (including the Theatre Royal Management Board) are not eligible to apply for support package funds.

Fisheries Assistance

Payment waivers for licence fees for the next 12 months are being offered to licence holders in the following Tasmanian wild capture fisheries:

Abalone Dive

Australian Salmon

Automatic Squid Jig

Banded Morwong

Beach Seine A

Beach Seine B

Clam Georges Bay North

Cockle Ansons Bay

Commercial Dive

Danish Seine

Fish Processing Licence

Giant Crab

Introduced Marine Plant

King Island Kelp

Limited Danish Seine

Mackerel - Category A

Mackerel - Category B

Marine Plant

Native Oyster Georges Bay

Octopus

Pacific Oyster

Personal

Fish Handling

Purse Seine Net

Rock Lobster

Scalefish A

Scalefish B

Scalefish C

Scallop

Small Mesh Gillnet

Southern Calamari

Undaria

Venereupus

Vessel Wrasse

Who is eligible?

Commercial fishers and processors who hold the licence types listed above are eligible. The waiver is for 12 months and will take effect for those licences that are due for renewal after January 2020. Payments already made for those licence fees listed above in the new (2020-21) licence year will be refunded. Fee relief will be automatic at the time of the next licence renewal. Note that renewal dates vary by fishery.

When will the initiative be available?

Fee relief will be automatic at the time of the next licence renewal. Note that renewal dates vary by fishery.

Licensed fishers and processors covered by these waivers will receive an email outlining the procedures from the Department.

Shellfish Industry

Shellfish marine farm licence holders will have their licence and rental fees waived for the 2020/21 licensing period. The Government will also waive the 2020/21 Shellfish Market Access Program (ShellMAP) levy for these leaseholders.

When will the initiative be available?

This initiative will apply to all lease rental fees due for licensed shellfish farmers from 1 April 2020 for a period of 12 months and to shellfish licences for the 2020/21 licence period.

How do I apply?

Renewals of shellfish marine farming licences are due at the end of April and fee relief for licenced species and the ShellMAP levy will be automatic.

An application form to waive lease rental fees will accompany licence renewal notices, which will be sent out to all licence holders.

Stay Afloat

TSIC and RAW Tas have commenced a project to address:

dedicated on-the-ground support for seafood operators, delivered through the RAW Outreach Program; and

relevant educational resources to encourage fishers to look out for other fishers, and mates to look out for their mates and to seek further support if needed.

Local Government Loans Program

The Local Government Loans Program has been developed to assist local governments to invest and employ more staff to upgrade, renovate and to do necessary maintenance to improve existing local government infrastructure.

Rapid Response Skills Initiative

The Rapid Response Skills Initiative (RRSI) provides up to $3000 towards the cost of training for people who have lost their jobs because they have been made redundant, the place they worked has closed, or the employer had to let staff go.